By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Education Writer

With mold problems shutting hotel rooms and creating on-and-off-again worries in University of Hawai'i buildings, there's some good news from an unexpected corner.

At Maui Community College, where issues of mold have been of concern in administrative offices, the campus microbiology department is in the midst of testing a new device created by Maui engineer Jack Kulp.

It kills mold, bacteria and viruses by sucking in the air and exposing it to ultraviolet light.

The idea isn't new, said Kulp. The technology was first experimented with by Westinghouse as far back as the 1930s to use in water sanitation. A lot of sewage treatment systems still use it to kill microbes in water, he said.

But Kulp has adapted it for use in small spaces.

"The minute you put it in, it changes the air," he said.

Using Kulp's device, MCC biology instructor Sally Irwin devised a scientific test to see if mold problems could be eased in the administrative offices, first setting petri dishes throughout the offices to collect wayward spores.

"First she got a baseline of ambient air," said Kulp. "Spores would fall out of the air into the petri dishes and she would culture them to see what grows. And she determined that the assistant dean's office was the one most contaminated by bacteria and mold."

Assistant dean of instruction Jeannie Pezzoli was the fortunate recipient of the experiment, said Kulp, who provided the device free to the school for testing.

"She has allergic reactions beyond belief," he said. But during the testing her reactions abated, and the air in that office went from being the worst to being the best, he said.

David Fisher of the Hawai'i Small Business Development Center Network, Maui Division, has been working with Kulp to develop the device further and see it blossom into a viable business. While Kulp calls it the Guardian now, he may have to change the name because it may be patented already.

"His breakthrough is that it's inexpensive enough that you can put it in individual offices or small areas," said Fisher. "His approach is to kill anything before it permeates the whole system. These things start when someone coughs in a room or mold grows, and it should be stopped there first."

Fisher said Kulp's device "even kills anthrax" — something discovered while it was being Underwriters Laboratories-certified for safety on the Mainland.

Fisher also tested the device in his own office for three months and found that during that time he had no colds, allergies or symptoms of either. "I just didn't get sick," he said.

While Kulp is still perfecting the device (find him online) the latest prototype is being manufactured in Nevada. But Fisher is looking into an arrangement for manufacturing in China to bring the cost down.

Maui Community College isn't the only hotbed of anti-mold work. On Aug. 16 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. MoldPro International, a Kailua firm, will present what it refers to as "Mold University" — a full day of information about toxic mold to anyone who wants to pay $295.

The seminar is recommended for school officials, superintendents, property managers, insurers, real estate agents, designers, consultants, architects, facility engineers, physicians and anyone else in the building trades. Sign up by calling 262-0909.

Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8013.